More Than Lenses And Lighting
Campers learn to become fantastic filmmakers in Seattle
By Megan Garbayo-López
Photos: Seattle International Film Festival
Founded in 1976, the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) has put cameras into the hands of hundreds of young filmmakers since summer camps began in 2013. SIFF Camps foster a fun, welcoming environment for young people to engage their creativity through film, with the freedom and technology to explore what excites them.
Local filmmaker and writer Steph Kese has been the lead instructor at SIFF Camps for the past seven summers. “I have personally made over 1,000 films with young people at SIFF Camps,” says Kese. “We provide the resources, the kids supply the imagination. The result is that we never make the same film twice.”
SIFF Camps focus on a different aspect of filmmaking each week, including editing, sound design, stop-motion animation, and special effects. Campers ages 8 to 14 become familiar with cameras, editing software, studio lighting, and green-screen effects to create one-of-a-kind stories with industry professionals mentoring them along the way. Campers already enamored with filmmaking through popular platforms like TikTok and YouTube can hone their technical skills, and experience all of the different positions on a film set.
Child-First Approach
About 40 percent of our campers are neurodivergent. Kids with ADHD and Autism often need additional support that many organizations may not be able to accommodate. We are very proud that our staff, structural flexibility, and relationships with parents enable us to provide a safe place to be creative for all kinds of kids. It also makes for some very fun filmmaking to encourage and nurture different perspectives amongst our campers.
SIFF Camp embraces a child-first approach to education, making time each morning and afternoon for instructors to discuss best practices and how better to meet the needs of individuals. Discovering which filmmakers work well together, and which may need to try a new group dynamic is essential to the success of camp.
Another key to making sure everyone feels welcome and supported is the student-to-mentor ratio. By keeping group sizes small (one mentor per four to five kids), the mentors can take almost any wild idea the kids come up with and make it happen, whether it’s using a green screen to make a camper fly through the air or making a stuffed bear explode in post-production.
Teamwork
SIFF’s mission is to create a culturally relevant and revelatory curriculum that empowers students to develop their artistic identity, celebrate their unique perspective, and build self-esteem. The goal isn’t just to nurture the next generation of filmmakers, but to create a generation of collaborative team players. SIFF’s staff members reinforce these teambuilding skills through every step of the process, from script to screen.
SIFF Camps build teamwork skills by rotating instructors, encouraging meaningful discussion around creative differences, and using the push-pull dynamic of working with other artists to create a unified narrative. All voices are heard, and all students have the opportunity to hold a camera, edit film, write a script, talk through the process, and reflect on the production experience at Q&As.
Safety First
Safety remains a huge priority on film sets. Over the years, Hollywood has been in the news again and again over issues of set safety, abusive work conditions, and misconduct on-set. Whether it’s COVID-19 safety, best practices with potentially dangerous equipment, or emotional safety between crew members, being safe on set is the first rule of film camps. By establishing these expectations early on through registration policies, welcome emails, and first-day orientation, campers and staff members are able to move through camp with a shared framework for what is acceptable behavior.
We aren’t just interested in making the next wave of Seattle filmmakers great. We are interested in making film sets safer and more welcoming by modeling those values from the very beginning.
Curriculum
Each week begins with the first filmmaking challenge, designed to get campers’ creative juices flowing and to introduce the technical skills campers will build on throughout the week. After each challenge, students participate in a mini-film festival, where they learn how to give constructive criticism and receive feedback on their work to be used in their next project. There are typically three to four challenges each week, with a final three-minute film showcasing the filmmaking techniques campers have learned.
Wall Of Fame
Throughout the week, campers can nominate themselves or another camper for the Character Wall of Fame. All they need is a fabulous costume, a character biography, and a snapshot to put their character on the wall for all to see. Students then create a video snapshot of their character, choosing a green-screen background, music, and dialogue that best represent their character.
Those who are inclined toward graphic design are encouraged to create posters for their films, which also line the walls of the classroom for the summer. With examples such as Jurassic Park and E.T. The Extraterrestrial, kids create titles, taglines, credits, and iconic images to sell their films to the masses.
On The Big Screen
On Fridays, SIFF hosts a Friends and Family screening at the Film Center on Seattle Center campus, where campers debut their films. One of the special moments for campers and mentors is the Filmmaker Q&A, held at the end of the screening. Even the most introverted campers are proud to answer questions and give insight into their artistic process. It’s amazing to see how their first films have transformed to their last ones!
Megan Garbayo-López is the Educational Programs Manager for SIFF. Reach her at megan.garbayo@siff.net.
CAMP SNAPSHOT
SIFF Film Camps (www.siff.net)
Seattle, Wash.
Sessions: 9 one-week summer sessions
Age: 8-14 years
Gender: Both